Learn more about Nova-What Are Dreams:

What are dreams and why do we have them? NOVA joins the leading dream researchers as they embark on a variety of neurological and psychological experiments to investigate the world of sleep and dreams. Delving deep into the thoughts and brains of a variety of dreamers, scientists are asking important questions about the purpose of this mysterious world we escape to at night. Do dreams allow us to get a good night’s sleep? Do they improve our memory? Do they allow us to be more creative? Can they solve our problems or even help us survive the hazards of everyday life? NOVA follows researchers like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Matthew Wilson who is literally ‘eavesdropping’ on the dreams of rats and takes viewers into a sleep lab for a first-hand look at how scientists do their best to eavesdrop on human dreams. From those who violently act out their dreams to those who can’t stop their nightmares, from sleepwalking cats to people who can’t dream, each fascinating experiment contains a vital clue to the age-old question: What are dreams?

Editor's Note

Discover what your nocturnal visions might be trying to tell you as a team of respected dream researchers conduct a series of psychological and neurological experiments designed to provide answers about one of the human mind's greatest mysteries. Some people believe that dreams help us to sleep soundly, while others speculate that they provide us with the tools needed to address problems in our waking lives. And for those who suffer from such well-documented sleep disorders as night terrors and sleepwalking, dreams can be a deeply unsettling and potentially dangerous experience. Whatever their purpose may be, dreams play a prominent role in all of our lives, and with this investigation we come one step closer to understanding what they could really be trying to tell us.